GET DAILY SIGNALSUlta Beauty (ULTA, $237.73) disappoints on earnings; lowers full-year guidance
Ulta Beauty shares plummeted close to -30% Friday, after the company lowered its fiscal- full-year outlook and also missed earnings expectations.
The chain of stores selling cosmetics and hair & skincare products reported net income of $2.76 per share which, although higher than the year-ago quarter’s $2.46, fell short of the Street estimate of $2.80.
Revenue for the quarter increased +12% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, which was in line with expectations.
Comparable sales (which in this case includes stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased +6.2%. Last year same quarter, the growth was +6.5%.
But for the full-year, the company reduced its guidance citing headwinds in the U.S. cosmetics market. Ulta now expects EPS to range between $11.86 and $12.06 for the year, down from its prior projection of $12.83 to $13.03 range. The company indicated that the revision includes the effect of around $700 million in share buybacks and also the assumption of a 23% effective tax rate (versus 24% previously).
Ulta has predicted comparable sales growth of approximately +4% to +6%, down from previous estimates of +6% to +7%. The forecast includes e-commerce growth of +20% to +30%.
The company hopes to increase total sales by +9% to +12%, as compared to previous forecasts of low double-digit growth.
The company expressed plans to open around 80 new stores, remodel or relocate 20 others and do some touch-ups of about 270 stores.
Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
ULTA's MACD Histogram crosses above signal line
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for ULTA turned positive on October 08, 2026. Looking at past instances where ULTA's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 34 of 44 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 77%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on October 07, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on ULTA as a result. In 54 of 81 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 67%.
The 50-day moving average for ULTA moved above the 200-day moving average on October 26, 2026. This could be a long-term bullish signal for the stock as the stock shifts to an upward trend.
Following a +0.39% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where ULTA advanced for three days, in 214 of 312 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 69%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 169 of 277 cases where ULTA Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 61%.
Bearish Trend Analysis
The 10-day RSI Indicator for ULTA moved out of overbought territory on October 30, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 39 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In 20 of the 39 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at 51%.
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 15 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where ULTA declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 61%.
ULTA broke above its upper Bollinger Band on October 22, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 12 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating outstanding price growth. ULTA’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 22 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating very strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 24 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 42 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating well-balanced risk and returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 89, placing this stock slightly better than average.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 88 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is significantly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: ULTA's P/B Ratio (10.311) is slightly higher than the industry average of (2.356). P/E Ratio (23.151) is within average values for comparable stocks, (17.319). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (1.978) is also within normal values, averaging (1.159). Dividend Yield (0.006) settles around the average of (0.096) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (1.806) is also within normal values, averaging (1.057).
The Tickeron Seasonality Score of 95 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is significantly overvalued in the industry. The Tickeron Seasonality score describes the variance of predictable price changes around the same period every calendar year. These changes can be tied to a specific month, quarter, holiday or vacation period, as well as a meteorological or growing season.
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a company that retails cosmetics and other personal care products
Industry SpecialtyStores
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